Chuck, I have experienced it several times first-hand. All but once, it was deliberate in order to do some early-season waterskiing (Hadn?t learned the hot shower trick yet). Once the wetsuit warmed up, I was fine. I was also in my 20?s and thought it was funny. The one unexpected time occurred in mid-march on a canoe trip on the Wood River in Rhode Island. My friend Alison and I were paddling my canoe tandem. The air temperature was about 85 degrees, and the water was about 40 degrees. I was wearing a shorty wetsuit, and a PFD, and Alison was wearing a bathing suit, cotton t-shirt, and PFD. The wood river is a slow, narrow, winding river that goes through a marshy area where we were paddling. It?s prone to having blowdowns and strainers in the spring, and there is one small rapid just after a portage around a dam. We had just run the rapid when the capsize occurred. At the bottom of the rapid, there is a sharp bend in the river, and there was a downed tree just under the surface. We thought we had enough water to go over it, but we found that we didn?t quite have enough. Instead of figuring out a portage around it (Hey, we just ran the rapid flawlessly after all?.), I grabbed a tree next to the canoe, and began dragging it over the downed tree while we were still in the canoe. Alison reached forward & grabbed a branch to keep pulling. Just as we were almost off the tree, I heard the branch break. Then the canoe listed upstream, and began to swamp. I tried to heel it back upright, and was too late --- the canoe slid under the surface, and we went in. When I hit the water, I couldn?t breathe. My heart felt like it had stopped. My limbs locked in spasm. I lost all awareness of anything other than the fact that I couldn?t breathe. This lasted for a good 30 seconds, or so it seemed. Then I slowly began to regain control of my body as the wetsuit warmed. I looked back, and Alison was still in the water in the fetal position, unable to respond. I swam back to her, and helped another paddler on the trip get her to shore & into the sun. We both were fine once we warmed back up & finished the trip without further incident. Had we not been wearing PFD?s, it might have been a whole different scenario. When you go into spasm like that, there?s no way you can keep your head above water. If that happens, and you experience a gasp reflex, it?s all over for you. I now wear a drysuit until the water is warm enough that I can go in without cold shock, especially because in recent years, I have developed an abnormal heart rhythm. Best not to take chances! Back when I was safety & education chair for the Rhode Island Canoe & Kayak Assoc, I ran a cold water paddling workshop. Not sure if they still run one. ConnYak does an annual media blitz in both newsletter and website about the dangers of cold water. Not sure about other clubs. Wayne Wayne Smith wsmith16_at_charter.net Check out my website! http://webpages.charter.net/wsmith16/home.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Apr 11 2005 - 10:49:06 PDT
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